Flourishing in the Health Sciences

Improving Clinical Education with SOPs

In nursing education, clinical site visits are often viewed merely as a logistical requirement for accreditation and student evaluation. But an essential question remains are these interactions truly empowering preceptors? And is there a direct relationship between the structured faculty support and improved patient care? As the complexities of clinical environments and virtual constraints continue to grow, how can nursing programs move beyond inconsistent observations to intentionally create standardized, flexible frameworks where educators can confidently guide and learners can truly thrive, not just perform? Welcome to Teach Well Learn Well, a podcast series highlighting the scholarship being published by members of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's community about effective ways to teach. This month, I talked to authors of an article titled Optimizing Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Critical Site Visits with a Standard Operating Procedure, published in the October twenty twenty five Journal for Nurse Practitioners. Humphrey, S., Reed, L., & Bellflower, B. (2025). Optimizing advanced practice registered nurse clinical site visits with a standard operating procedure. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 21(9), 7. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2025.105515 [doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2025.105515] Teach Well Learn Well is produced by the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. http://tlc.uthsc.edu [http://tlc.uthsc.edu].

Flourishing in the Health Sciences

Dr. Mona Wicks, College of Nursing, discusses the importance of faculty and student flourishing in nursing education. Newsome Wicks M. The Case for Creating Flourishing Nursing Education Environments. J Nurs Educ. 2025 Aug;64(8):472-473. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20250714-01. Epub 2025 Aug 1. PMID: 40801519.

Recruiting Students into Health Programs

In this episode, we dive into a pioneering early-exposure program originally designed for first-year medical students to demystify neurology through hands-on labs, clinical shadowing, and mentorship. We'll discuss how giving students an early look at the clinical impact of a specialty—before they are overwhelmed by their standard coursework—not only successfully increases their comfort and interest levels, but also provides vital cross-training for those who ultimately pursue different paths, such as emergency medicine. Teach Well Learn Well is produced by the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. http://tlc.uthsc.edu [http://tlc.uthsc.edu].

Integrating AI into the Curriculum

Drs. Wheeler and Kodweis, both of UT Health Science Center's College of Pharmacy, discuss how their students are using AI in their studies. Kodweis, K. R., & Wheeler, J. S. (2025). Use of generative AI on a drug information project: Curricular tool or cheating fuel? American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 89(11), 101570. Elsevier. Teach Well Learn Well is produced by the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. http://tlc.uthsc.edu [http://tlc.uthsc.edu].

Teaching About Deprescribing

The panel discusses the challenges of polypharmacy and how teaching students the importance of deprescribing improves patient care. Scott D, Cernasev A, Barenie RE, Springer SP, Axon DR. Teaching Deprescribing and Combating Polypharmacy in the Pharmacy Curriculum: Educational Recommendations from Thematic Analysis of Focus Groups. Clin Pract. 2023 Mar 14;13(2):442-453. doi: 10.3390/clinpract13020040 [https://Scott%20D,%20Cernasev%20A,%20Barenie%20RE,%20Springer%20SP,%20Axon%20DR.%20Teaching%20Deprescribing%20and%20Combating%20Polypharmacy%20in%20the%20Pharmacy%20Curriculum%20Educational%20Recommendations%20from%20Thematic%20Analysis%20of%20Focus%20Groups.%20Clin%20Pract.%202023%20Mar%2014;13(2):442-453.%20doi:%2010.3390]. PMID: 36961065; PMCID: PMC10037566. Teach Well Learn Well is produced by the Teaching and Learning Center at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. http://tlc.uthsc.edu [http://tlc.uthsc.edu].